Fairfax weighs restrictions on apartment smoking

Fairfax leaders are considering an ordinance that would allow owners to ban or restrict smoking in apartments.

"Second-hand smoke clearly is a public health issue, and it's one that we ignore at our own peril, not only for the long-term health effects, but also because of more direct consequences like fire," said Councilman Larry Bragman, who took part in a town-sponsored forum on the issue Wednesday. "The crux of the issue is weighing the privacy and enjoyment rights of smokers versus the health risks that it creates for nonsmokers - in particular, children."

The ordinance, which the council is expected to take up in May, would be based on a similar ordinance Novato passed in 2008. That law, the only one of its kind in Marin County, allows landlords to set aside up to 30 percent of multi-unit dwellings for smokers and declare the rest smoke-free. Tenants who violate the ordinance could be asked to leave by their landlord, or be sued by a fellow tenant in small claims court.

Property manager Veronica Del Rio said the ordinance would make it much easier for her to deal with conflicts between tenants.

"So many people who don't smoke move into a building - and then what happens is the smokers' smoke wafts up to their apartment," said Del Rio, manager of the Sherwood Oaks apartments on Bolinas Road. "People are concerned about their children inhaling second-hand smoke. I feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. I can tell tenants not to smoke, but I can't enforce it."

Yet manager Daniel Potter thinks the ordinance is unnecessary.

"I would describe it as an answer looking for a question," said Potter, property manager at Robinhood Manor on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. "I think there's plenty of ways a property owner, if he so chooses, can ban smoking from a property. This ordinance would be a good thing from the point of view of the owner - there would be less wear and tear and less fire danger. But it would be a hardship on many of the tenants."

Bragman believes his council will have to carefully evaluate the issue before taking action.

"What I intend is for Fairfax to do a very slow and deliberate walk towards the ordinance, with additional public outreach meetings where we discuss it and try to iron out any wrinkles or concerns," said Bragman, who brought the measure before the council after Smoke Free Marin, an anti-tobacco advocacy group, gave Fairfax a low rating.

Fairfax already bans smoking in bars, restaurants and within 20 feet of public buildings. In addition, state law prohibits smoking in offices.

"At first blush, it may seem that this ordinance is invading people's privacy," Bragman said. "But once the council understands the risks that second-hand smoke poses to the vast majority of tenants that aren't smokers, we will be able to arrive at a consensus of trying to protect them without laying a heavy hand on smokers."